


Coffee and Licorice

by Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: A/B/O verse, Alpha!Gil, Anal Sex, Bright is obnoxiously right, Difficult heats, Gil is conflicted, Heat Sex, Helping with heats, M/M, Omega!Malcolm, Oral Sex, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Rimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:01:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29477382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness/pseuds/Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness
Summary: Gil smells something amazing at the precinct one day.  Malcolm uses the opportunity to talk Gil into helping him with his upcoming heat...
Relationships: Gil Arroyo/Malcolm Bright
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	Coffee and Licorice

**Author's Note:**

> Betaed by the amazing elfladyarwen--go check out her fics! Any remaining mistakes are my own.

Gil took deep breaths, licking his lips as he climbed the stairs to Malcolm’s loft. He could smell Sunshine, old books, juice, and _Malcolm._ He couldn’t believe he was this lucky. Part of him still thought this was a bad idea, but he shoved that part down until he couldn’t hear it any more. 

He shrugged his blazer off at the top of the stairs, tossing it toward the rack; he was way too worked up to hang it up. Similarly, he let go of the backpack he was holding and it dropped somewhere near the entrance. He could see Malcolm in bed, dressed in nothing but his black briefs, and felt his inner Alpha start chanting, “ _Mine!_ ” 

Gil stalked toward the bed, watching Malcolm’s wide eyes fix on him. The Omega smelled absolutely delicious, and Gil couldn't help but wet his lips again as he set his bag of supplies down on the nightstand. 

.oOOo.

It had all started at the precinct yesterday. _What was that smell?_ Gil knew it wasn’t any of his officers; they took scent-blockers on a regular basis. It was impossible to protect and serve without them. 

He tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t leave him alone, and he finally had to get up and follow his nose. 

The main scent was coffee, but not the sludge that the precinct served. No, this was a much richer scent, full of nutty undertones and even a hint of milk and sugar--though he usually took his black. Plus, there was something else, some spice or something. He couldn’t put his finger on it. 

No one else in the precinct seemed to notice anything out of order, which was odd. Gil knew there were noses on the force much better than his. 

Whatever it was wasn’t a spice, he thought. More of a...flavor, maybe? What went in coffee? Hazelnut? Chocolate? It wasn’t either of those. What was it?

Gil followed the tantalizing scent into the conference room, where Malcolm was sitting, staring at the case board. “Kid?” he asked. “What are you drinking?

“What?” Malcolm gave him a slightly guilty look; Gil made a mental note to look into it later. “Nothing.” He held his empty hands up to demonstrate. 

“What’s that smell, then?” Gil prowled around the room, eventually ending up standing in front of Bright. 

“What smell? Gil?” Malcolm watched him circle the room, the look on his face gradually morphing from bemusement to concern. 

“Coffee,” Gil rumbled. “Coffee and...something else.” 

Bright blanched, although Gil had no idea why. “Licorice?” he whispered. 

“Yes! That’s it! Where _is_ that coming from?” Gil asked, taking deep lungfuls of air. Something in the back of his mind was transmitting some kind of warning, but he ignored it. 

Malcolm slapped a hand over the scent gland on the right side of his neck, and only then did Gil realize what was happening. His eyes focused on Malcolm’s face. 

“It’s you--you’re--” He felt himself redden, and immediately backed away. “I’m sorry, kid, I didn’t mean--” He knew Malcolm was an Omega, of course, but he’d never smelled him this close to his heat before. Was that even possible? And why could no one else smell him?

“It won’t be for days yet. How could you even tell?” Bright was looking up at him with wide eyes. “I’m on blockers, how did you even--” Abruptly, he leapt out of the chair and ran into the bullpen, and Gil only _just_ managed not to try to tackle him to the ground and force himself upon him. 

“Dani!” Malcolm called. Gil speed-walked--not ran--after the profiler. And had to force himself not to growl when he saw Malcolm leaning over Powell’s desk. Though, he couldn’t help but admire the view. 

“Can you smell me?” Malcolm was asking. 

“What? No,” Dani told Malcolm after a deep breath, her forehead crinkled in bemusement. Then her gaze fell on Gil, and she slowly stood up and reached for her taser. “Boss. Your eyes are red.”

They were? They hadn’t glowed red since--since Jackie. That thought sobered Gil up just enough to get a hold of himself. What was he doing, stalking an Omega through the precinct like a knot-head? That wasn’t him. He shook his head to try to clear it. 

“He smelled me,” Malcolm told Dani, sounding panicky as he pointed toward Gil. 

Dani frowned at him, took a deep breath, and shook her head. “He can’t have. I don’t smell a thing, and my nose is way better than his. No offense, boss.” She was in a relaxed stance, but Gil could see the signs that told him that she was ready and able to use the taser on him if she had to. 

He forced himself to take a step back. “You don’t smell that? Coffee and licorice?” He addressed Dani, but couldn’t take his eyes off of Malcolm. 

“That’s my scent,” Malcolm confirmed. “And I have a heat coming up, but not for several days.” 

JT had come over in time to hear the end of the conversation, and promptly burst out laughing. “True mates,” he said, when they all looked at him in surprise. “True mates can smell each other when others can’t. Tally and I are like that.” He focused on Gil, and smirked. “Congrats, boss, you get to mate the crazy one.” 

“But--but...we’re not...” Gil stammered. “I mean, I can’t--” he looked to Malcolm, who seemed completely shell-shocked, and then to Dani for help. 

Dani had taken her hand off her taser, and seemed as if she were trying not to laugh. “Can’t argue with true mates, Boss.” A moment or two later, she got control of herself and added, “Want me to take him home?”

“ _No,_ ” Gil growled. 

JT and Dani exchanged a look, and Dani’s hand strayed back toward her taser. Gil forced his eyes shut, and reached up to grab the bridge of his nose. 

“Sorry. Yes. Please.” He understood their concern a little better when he realized how difficult it was for him to turn around and walk away from that scent. 

His head gradually began to clear, and he started kicking himself. What the hell had that been? He wasn’t like that, not really. Okay, maybe he’d been a touch protective around Jackie. Oh God. What would Jessica think? Martin Whitly could sit and spin as far as Gil was concerned, but he actually cared about what Jessica thought of him. And what if he’d scarred the kid even more than he already was? He wasn’t sure he could live with himself if he had. 

Feeling a black mood coming on, he stepped into his office and closed the door behind him, then tried to lose himself in paperwork. 

.oOOo.

”Alpha,” Malcolm whimpered. Between that sound and the smell of the Omega’s oncoming heat, Gil was so hard his knot almost popped before he ever got it in. 

“Omega.” He stood over the kid for a moment, taking in the view of Malcolm Bright laid out for him like a meal, nearly naked and already aroused. Bright was too skinny; the Alpha inside told him they’d need to work on that. Gil’s Omega needed to be well-fed and happy. _Not mine yet,_ he told himself.

Malcolm climbed to his knees, and Gil sat down on the edge of the bed, letting Malcolm knee-walk his way over and straddle him before leaning in to scent him deeply. 

Gil returned the favor, smelling the wonderful coffee-and-licorice scent that was all Omega. He couldn’t help it; he licked over the scent gland, and Malcolm moaned. Bright’s skin tasted almost sweet, and Gil couldn’t wait to taste more.

.oOOo.

A half hour later, his phone rang. Gil intended to ignore whomever it was. No one had been brave enough to interrupt him by opening his door, and he wasn’t planning on going any easier on the caller.

The caller ID said Malcolm. Gil heaved a deep sigh before he picked up. “Bright?”

“Sour apple and whiskey.”

Gil blinked. “What?”

“That’s your scent. Sour apple and whiskey.” 

“You’ve smelled it before, whenever my scent blockers wore off,” Gil protested. 

“Yes, but I smelled it today. I didn’t realize it until we got out of the precinct,” Bright told him. 

“You can’t have, Malcolm. I’m on blockers right now.” At least Gil was thinking more clearly now that Malcolm wasn’t actually present. 

He practically heard Bright dismiss his objection. “Well, I did. Look, I have a theory. I think your bond with Jackie finally wore off. It’s been about three years, right? And you were mated about 25 years? The rule is that a bond lasts about a year for every ten years you were together, so that would make sense. We can smell each other despite the blockers because your old bond’s gone and we’re genetically compatible.” 

Gil rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “Fine. Let’s say that’s true. It doesn’t change anything, Bright. I’m still old enough to be your father. I should be...I don’t know, attracted to your _mother_ , not you.”

“That’s not how it works, and you know it,” Malcolm riposted. “Gil, you’re--aside from Ainsley, you’re the only one who’s ever truly cared about me.” 

“That’s not true.” Gil spoke on autopilot. “Your mother--”

“Is a narcissist, and thus incapable of truly caring for or empathizing with another person.”

“That’s not fair, kid.”

“I know. She tries. She cares for us as much as she’s able. But you and I both know that that’s not enough. Without you, I’d be...lost,” Malcolm said, hesitating over the last word. They both knew which word he wasn’t using, and a part of Gil hurt when he realized it. 

Gil switched to the conciliatory tone that he only used with Malcolm and his bosses. “I’m not going to argue with you about that, kid. But just because we have a connection and we’re genetically compatible or whatever, doesn’t mean we’d make good mates.” 

“Oh,” Malcolm breathed, and then broke his heart even further. “No, of course you wouldn’t want to mate me, with all my problems, that’s...perfectly understandable, Gil.” He sounded as if he were trying to melt into whatever floor he was standing on. 

“That’s not what--kid, you’ll make someone a great mate one day. There’s nothing wrong with you. I’m just saying that _we_ wouldn’t make good mates. For heaven’s sake, you have a parakeet and I have cats,” Gil pointed out. 

“We could make that work. We could find a place where Sunshine could have a dedicated room, and keep the cats out of it,” Malcolm argued. “Or, you know, some mates these days keep separate places. We could just spend ruts and heats in the same place and have a pet-sitter visit the other.” 

“What? No, you would not stay in a separate apartment if you were my mate.” Gil only realized after he’d said it how possessive he sounded. He made a face at himself. 

“See? We just have to work out the little details like that.” Malcolm didn’t sound at all frightened of Gil’s possessiveness. If anything, he sounded slightly smug. “And we have plenty of time to do it.”

Gil started to interrupt, but Bright talked over him. “Look, let me give you an easy choice. My heats are horrible if I don’t have a live Alpha, and with my meds I can’t use heat preventatives. So someone is going to have to help me with my heat in a few days. I’d rather it was you, even if afterward you still just want to be friends. If not, I’ll have to use an Alpha service.”

Gil’s hand tightened on the phone. He hadn’t ever thought about Malcolm’s heats before. Suddenly, the thought of anyone else ‘helping’ Malcolm was unbearable. His teeth made a little shrieking sound as he grit them together. 

“No,” he barked into the phone. Attempting to soften his voice, he added, “I’ll help. If you really want me--my...help, that is.”

“I wouldn’t be on the phone with you if I didn’t,” Malcolm pointed out. “I assume you have a dental device, from your dates after Jackie?”

Gil hadn’t actually dated after Jackie, but he wasn’t about to tell the kid that. He did have one; he’d needed it so he couldn’t break his wife’s skin after she got sick. It was a bittersweet memory. “Yeah, I have one. Do you?” Omegas’ mating fangs weren’t as long as Alphas’, but they could still break skin, so there was a small chance of a permanent bond being formed if both of them didn’t have protection. 

“Of course,” Malcolm responded. He hesitated, and Gil used the time to process what he’d just agreed to. “You’ll also need condoms. I can’t take birth control either.” 

Gil took a deep breath. “Fine. Are you stocked up on liquids?”

He could almost hear Bright roll his eyes. “Yes, I have plenty of sparkling water and juice.” 

“Protein bars?”

“They make me sick. I’ve got cookies.” 

_Of course he did, _thought Gil. He wasn’t sure if Bright’s eating habits were more likely to get him in trouble with his doctors or with his dentists. “Do you...need anything else?”__

__“Nope, I’m good,” Malcolm replied. “Although...actually, you should bring food for yourself. Or I suppose we can order takeout.”_ _

__Gil closed his eyes. “Kid. Promise me you’re going to eat something substantial before your heat hits.”_ _

__“Is that an order?”_ _

__“Does it have to be?” Gil shot back._ _

__Bright laughed. “I’ll try my best, how about that?”_ _

__Gil knew that was as good as he was going to get. “Fine. And I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come into the precinct for the next few days.”_ _

__“Afraid you’ll accidentally mate me?” Gil could hear the smirk in Malcolm’s voice._ _

__“I don’t want there to be any accidents. And call me before it hits, Bright, not after.”_ _

__“Okay, _Alpha._ ” Malcolm hung up. Gil dropped the phone on the desk and then lowered his face into his hands, determined to figure out exactly how he’d managed to agree to knot Bright during his heat._ _

__.oOOo._ _

__Bright had actually called Gil before his heat started. He wasn’t quite as desperate, meaning they could take things a little more slowly than a heat normally allowed. Once Gil’s nose was full of Malcolm’s scent, he pulled back, framing the kid’s face with his hands before going in for a kiss. And if his wrist glands happened to rub his scent all over Malcolm’s face, that was just a bonus._ _

__Malcolm kissed him back until they had explored every nook and cranny of the other’s mouth. When they finally broke for air, they kept their foreheads pressed together, sharing breath. Gil was surprised by how good it was, how attracted to Malcolm he was in the moment as he looked into the other man’s eyes._ _

__“You can’t deny this, Alpha.” Malcolm whispered._ _

__Gil couldn’t, kissing Malcolm again so he couldn’t belabor his I-told-you-so. This time, when he leaned back, he put a hand to Malcolm’s forehead to see if he was feverish. “Hasn’t started yet?” he asked, when Bright’s temperature seemed normal._ _

__“No. But soon,” Malcolm replied, looking at him a bit dazedly._ _

__“Then I want to try something. Can I?” Gil asked, running his fingertips along the waistband of Bright’s briefs and then slipping them under the fabric._ _

__“Yes.” Malcolm stood up, setting a hand on Gil’s shoulder to steady himself as Gil pushed the briefs down his legs. Malcolm was neatly trimmed and half-hard already, but Gil was more focused on the scent. Licorice and coffee shouldn’t go that well together, but it did. He wanted to taste it from the source._ _

__“Turn around,” Gil instructed. He still had knee problems from being a beat cop, but he’d learned a trick or two to help with that._ _

__“Aren’t you going to get naked?” Malcolm complained, but turned._ _

__“Soon, baby. Soon.” Gil reached out, sliding his hands down Malcolm’s sides, to his flanks, and then to his hips, where he let them rest a moment. The Omega shivered in response to the touches, and Gil felt a low purr escape his throat._ _

__Slowly, he cupped Malcolm’s cheeks, pulling them apart. He was mesmerized by the sight of slick slowly leaking out of Bright’s hole. “Bend over, kid.” He knew Malcolm did yoga, but he was not expecting him to put a perfect bend in his spine, presenting his ass at just the right angle. “Beautiful,” he murmured, admiring Malcolm for a moment or two before leaning over and licking up some of the slick._ _

__Malcolm visibly shuddered and let out a loud moan. Gil wasn’t quite sure if it was because of the praise or the contact--it might have been both. He began licking Malcolm’s entrance, but with his heat imminent, it had already begun to open and relax without prep. The combination of the flavor of Malcolm’s slick and his skin was heady. He continued until Bright was squirming too hard for him to continue._ _

__Pulling back, Gil wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, as Malcolm whimpered at the end of the stimulation. “Has it hit yet?”_ _

__Bright only needed to turn around for Gil to obtain his answer. The kid was flushed, sweating, clearly feverish, and hard as a rock. Gil considered giving him a blow job, but Malcolm was unlikely to be able to stand much longer, and he didn’t want them both to end up on the floor._ _

__“Yes. And you’re still overdressed, Alpha.”_ _

__Gil realized he was staring at Bright’s crotch, and looked up at his face. He stood up, putting his arms around the Omega and leaning in for another kiss. Malcolm tried to tug Gil’s sweater and undershirt up his torso, uncoordinated enough that he only managed to get them up about halfway._ _

__Gil gently spun them around, pushing Malcolm back onto the bed so Gil was standing in between his legs. He wasn’t surprised when Malcolm immediately started working to get his slacks open. Gil grabbed hold of the bottom of his undershirt and pulled both it and his sweater off in a single, smooth motion._ _

__Malcolm stopped and stared at his chest, licking his lips. “Please, Alpha. Need you.”_ _

__“In a minute,” Gil picked up where Malcolm had left off, shoving his slacks and boxers down and off of his feet. They caught on his shoes, and he bent over to fight with them. “Do you have your dental device in?”_ _

__“Uh-uh.” Malcolm shook his head and then moved to the nightstand where he picked up an item that looked a bit like his regular mouthguard and inserted it. Gil had put his in before coming into the apartment, but he had to remember a condom. Whatever happened, he knew neither of them were ready for an unplanned pregnancy._ _

__.oOOo._ _

__Malcolm had called Gil again the next day._ _

__“What is it, Bright?” Gil was in a better mood today, but he was starting to regret agreeing to help the kid with his heat. Sure, it was something a lot of people did in this day and age, but Gil wasn’t certain he could help Malcolm and not get attached. His feelings for the kid were...complicated, to say the least._ _

__“I want to tell you something, before my heat hits. Let me preface it by saying I know sometimes I’m impulsive, and that can get me in trouble.” Gil snorted as Malcolm made the understatement of the year. “But wanting to mate you isn’t like that. I’ve thought about it for years. For a while, I thought I might be deluding myself about whether or not we’d work together, but after profiling you when I got back from DC, I really think we would. The fact that we’re true mates just confirms it.”_ _

__“Your point?” Gil asked, an eyebrow raised._ _

__“I’m getting there. I know you well enough to know you’re going to roll your eyes at this, but I mean it. I want to mate you. If you decide I’m right, you have my permission to mate me during my heat. Given before my judgement becomes unsound.”_ _

__Gil started to roll his eyes, stopped himself, and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Kid…”_ _

__“Now you’re pinching the bridge of your nose,” Malcolm said, a hint of smugness in his tone._ _

__Bright was correct, but Gil wasn’t about to admit it. “Your ability to profile me--correctly or incorrectly--does not change the age gap between us, the fact that we have vastly different personalities, or...or anything else!” His voice grew a little heated._ _

__“I knew you would say something like that,” Malcolm replied calmly. “But I want you to know that I, being of sound-ish mind and body with several days left before my heat starts, give you my permission to mate me if it turns out that’s what you want to do.”_ _

__“I won’t,” Gil said quickly._ _

__“We’ll see.” Gil frowned at the phone. “Good-bye, Alpha. Oh! And can you bring some milk? Sometimes I crave it during my heat but I don’t have any.”_ _

__Gil was not about to let Bright know that calling him Alpha had affected him as strongly as it had. “Sure, kid. 2% okay?”_ _

__“Skim. The less fat, the less it upsets my stomach.”_ _

__“Fine. I’ll bring it. But right now I need to get back to my paperwork.”_ _

__“Sure, see you soon, Gil.” Malcolm hung up, and Gil shook his head at himself. How did the kid manage to disarm him completely every single time?_ _

__.oOOo._ _

__By the time Gil finished wrenching off his clothing, growling in frustration, Malcolm was on the bed face down, presenting himself._ _

__“God, Kid,” Gil whispered. He grabbed a condom packet, tore it open, and rolled it down his length before joining the Omega on the bed. Alpha condoms were awful because they had to be so thick, but Gil didn’t care at the moment._ _

__“Please, Alpha...please, I need your knot,” Malcolm babbled. While Gil had had every intention of taking their first time slow, he lost his precious self-control and slid into Malcolm’s hot, slick channel immediately._ _

__“Oh, god, yes, Gil, you’re so thick, please, more.”_ _

__Single-syllabic was a good look on Bright, Gil thought as he started moving. He laid himself over Malcolm’s back, running his wrist glands up and down the kid’s arms as he licked at the glands on his neck, making Malcolm moan once more. He pushed himself back a little, and rubbed his wrists over Bright’s back, claiming him by scent since he wasn’t allowed to claim him with a bite._ _

__As he smelled the combination of their scents and heard the noise of their skin slapping together, Gil found he _wanted_ to claim Bright. He ran his nails down the kid’s back, not hard enough to break skin, but hard enough to leave marks, and heard Malcolm keen. Would having him as a mate really be that bad? Yes, they were different ages, but older Alphas mated younger Omegas all the time. Their personalities were different, but that just meant they complimented one another. And Jackie...Jackie would want him to be happy._ _

__Gil lost his train of thought as Malcolm suddenly clenched down and bucked below him, probably coming. He leaned over and started nipping at the edges of the boy’s too-prominent shoulder blades, not slowing down in the least. He took the opportunity to rub his wrists along the bottom of Bright’s torso._ _

__“God, yes, yes, Alpha, yes!” Malcolm didn’t seem to mind any of it, which was good because Gil wasn’t certain if he could stop now. Everything about Bright--his smell, the feel of his skin under his lips and hands, even the way he pushed himself back onto Gil’s knot as it started forming--was perfect._ _

__Gil chased his orgasm, dropping one hand down to Malcolm’s cock to find it half-hard again. He began stroking it--hopefully not too hard, but he couldn’t be responsible for his Alpha strength right now. Bright started writhing, and the movement helped egg on Gil’s inner Alpha._ _

__When the fireworks exploded behind his eyelids and he started pumping his seed into the condom, Gil bit down hard on Malcolm’s scent gland. With his dental device, he did no more than leave a bruise. Despite how he was feeling at the moment, it made him grimace. The hand on Bright’s cock encountered more moisture, and he knew Malcolm had come a second time. It would sate his heat for a while._ _

__Panting, Gil rolled them to their sides to try to avoid putting Malcolm in the wet spot; the kid’s bed wasn’t very big. He kissed along the back of Bright’s neck between breaths._ _

__“You okay?” he managed to gasp out._ _

__“Mmm-hmmmm,” Malcolm hummed, beyond words but clearly happy about it. Gil put his arms around him, and pulled him close. His knot was still pumping sperm into the condom, and Bright occasionally shuddered at the twitches._ _

__To Gil’s surprise, he heard Malcolm’s breathing even out and then deepen into soft snores. Careful not to jostle the Omega, Gil lifted his upper body just enough to confirm that Malcolm was fast asleep. Not only asleep; the kid was completely relaxed. His mouth was open a little, and he’d probably start drooling soon. And he was still. If he was dreaming, he wasn’t acting it out._ _

__Gil felt his heart swelling with pride. He wanted Malcolm to feel this way all the time. No, he wanted to be the one to _make_ Malcolm feel this way all the time. Glancing around the loft, he started thinking about where his things could go. They’d have to put some things in storage, but the kid could afford it. The cat vs. bird question was going to be a tougher one to manage, but his mind was already working on the problem. _ _

__With a sigh, he carefully extracted one of his arms from the tangle of limbs, took out his dental device, and tossed it on the nightstand._ _

__It was going to be a bitch to be mated to someone who was both half your age and almost always right, but Gil decided it was worth it._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @Masterpieceofturkeycleverness!


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